SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

It’s been way too long since I last rambled on senselessly about SKU. Today’s senseless rambling is about tsundere and yandere moments, and the characters that best fit the two categories! Frequently being reminded by my sister that I'm a tsundere got me thinking about how these stereotypes apply to the characters.

Tsundere: A female character that is at one moment arrogant, conceited, aloof and so on, and the next minute loving. Ex: “It’s…it’s not like I wanted to make lunch for you or anything! I just happened to have the ingredients lying around! So don’t get the wrong idea or anything, okay?!”

Yandere: A female character that is at one moment kind and loving, and the next moment exhibits the behavior of a complete psychopath. Ex: Doing the following to the person they love: Stabbing him, strangling him, cutting off his head, stabbing him in the eye with a switchblade, jumping off a building with him nearby, and any other psychotic behavior that you would never expect from the said girl in a hundred million years.

Utena = Tsundere: The way she acts around Touga and Akio? Very, very tsundere. I’d say she seems most tsun around Touga when she’s giving him a hard time, and most dere around Akio, but the overall tsundere vibe shows up around both of them.

Anthy = Yandere: Fuck, yes. Stabbing Utena in the back with a sword? Now that’s a yandere! Not the best quality since by then it’s not a complete shock to see her do something like that, but still incredibly yandere none the less! Movie-Anthy is also a very good example of yandere, the moment where it looks like she’s going to chop Utena in half stands out in particular! Well done, Anthy!

Kozue = Tsundere: You might be able to say that she’s yandere because of how she used to be nice but now she likes to hurt her brother, but really, she comes off much more as a tsundere. This is most apparent in her duel episode, when she’s alone with Miki in the piano room. Her change in attitude when speaking to Anthy is very tsundere!

Kanae = Yandere: The sweet and proper fiancé of the chairman suddenly trying to kill Anthy for interfering in her relationship with Akio? We’ve got a yandere! Probably part of the reasaon why I like Kanae so much, too.

Juri = Tsundere: We’ve got a winner for the tsundere category, folks! Juri is the ultimate tsundere of the series! She is the definition of tsundere! Pick any scene of an episode staring here, and you’ll find a perfect example of a tsundere! One moment she’s ignoring Shiori, the next she’s looking at the picture of her inside her locket. One minute she’s trying to punch Ruka, the next she looks surprisingly cute pinned to the wall… Tsuntsun, deredere!

Shiori = Yandere: If you want a better yandere example, I’d say that Movie-Shiori is one of the ultimate tsundere in every possible way. As for Series-Shiori, sadly, she’s not as yandere as her movie counterpart, but still very yandere. She loves Juri, yet she stole the boy from her to hurt her. The elevator scene where one moment she’s laughing, only to start screaming moments later is extremely tsundere. Pulling sword out of Juri is my favorite tsundere moment of hers… Go Shiori!

Keiko = Tsundere: Pretty self-explanatory, though her behavior towards Touga himself might not be all that tsundere.

Wakaba = Yandere: Wakaba wins for the best yandere in the series. Spending all those episodes thinking about how nice of a friend she is makes the perfect buildup for a tsundere moment. The kindness that we all grow so accustom to is what gives her duel the greater impact of shock. Isn’t it neat how kindness magnifies the shock of psychotic behavior!

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

ah~ the tsundere and yandere type of girls that are popular in Japanese ACG culture. I don't think Utena is a tsundere. The poor thing is just confused about herself. The fact that Touga and Akio are very charming men just serve to confuse her even more. Movie Anthy should not count as a yandere either. She has no intention to harm Utena when she picks up the axe. It's just all in the audience's head because we expect Movie Anthy to act like her series persona.

The examples... (shudder) Going by these standards, can any character who has not brutally murdered someone really count?

Last edited by Shiva Indis (12-29-2008 10:16:57 AM)

I am an actor cast eternally, Armless, legless, still existing I am, The eternal me and the eternal stranger, I am all the mysteries in creation, Male/female, positive/negative are the two of me, My birth, the absolute birth,Even light casts shadows, making a pair out of me and me, I am disconnected,

The examples... (shudder) Going by these standards, can any character who has not brutally murdered someone really count?

Aren't yandere's great?

I've read the wikipedia for tsundere and yandere before, but I really don't think it properly explains what exactly makes up a tsundere and yandere.^ Textbook tsundere. Tsundere also usually applies to girls who are too stubborn to admit their feelings, and end up stuttering a lot and blushing. It's usually a girl who could be considered somewhat aggressive.

Yandere is harder to understand without witnessing a yandere in action. The key to a perfect yandere is that she exhibits the kind behavior before hand. Without that, she's just a regular psycho, and not a yandere. What's really important is that her insanity is induced by the person she cares for. Murdering isn't really necessary. Like I said, stabbing them in the eye or strangling them is acceptable, and as is pinning their new girlfriend to the wall and screaming about how she should be dead. The yandere vibe can be felt in those instances without murder.

sharnii wrote:

A question: Are Tsundere drawn romantically to Yandere and vice versa? Is that like a stereotypical pairing? Cause from your analysis it sure seems like it...

I'm honestly not sure. All of the tsundere and yandere characters I'm familiar with aren't attracted to other girls, and thus aren't attracted to their polar opposite. (Except Rin, I guess...) I wouldn't be surprised if tsundere's got along best with yandere's. Juri and Shiori's relationship certainly seem like it.

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

sharnii wrote:

A question: Are Tsundere drawn romantically to Yandere and vice versa? Is that like a stereotypical pairing? Cause from your analysis it sure seems like it...

Nothing I've ever seen would suggest that, and it's just coincidence with Razara's list and how she interpreted them. It's not a shoujo-ai thing at all, really. I'm guessing you're trying to relate them to the seme and uke of shonen-ai?

One of the most tsundere characters that I am familiar with is Hazuki from Moon Phase, and she's definitely not out looking for a sweet yet violently destructive girl to keep her company. She just wants Kouhei.

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

These archetypes are mostly intended for bishojo game/moe applications. While the outwardly combative, inwardly affectionate (and awkward) character type has been seen in anime for the last 4 decades, the 'tsundere' label appeared when dating games became popular. As the player, you are introduced to a girl who is temperamental and verbally abusive, and your reward for getting past her defenses is seeing her appear helpless and admit that she likes you. Akiba-kei are into this.

How yandere evolved I don't know. It's clearly the product of a derranged mind, though.

I am an actor cast eternally, Armless, legless, still existing I am, The eternal me and the eternal stranger, I am all the mysteries in creation, Male/female, positive/negative are the two of me, My birth, the absolute birth,Even light casts shadows, making a pair out of me and me, I am disconnected,

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

Shiva Indis wrote:

These archetypes are mostly intended for bishojo game/moe applications. While the outwardly combative, inwardly affectionate (and awkward) character type has been seen in anime for the last 4 decades, the 'tsundere' label appeared when dating games became popular. As the player, you are introduced to a girl who is temperamental and verbally abusive, and your reward for getting past her defenses is seeing her appear helpless and admit that she likes you. Akiba-kei are into this.

How yandere evolved I don't know. It's clearly the product of a derranged mind, though.

I believe that yandere also evolved from bishoujo games. If you decide to date a girl other than the yandere, it could result in a dead end where the yandere goes psycho crazy and kills the protagonist, just like how Wakaba reacted when she saw Anthy wearing that leaf.

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

What about Nanami? I think she's also a huge Tsundere. All this time bitchslapping Anthy while trying to ruin Utena's life with a giant statue at the stair and making their curry extra spicy, but in the end, she warned Utena about Anthy and Akio being bad news. While calling Utena dumb, really, she's just looking out for her (Love the badminton moment. I think that was a time when most of the characters showed much of their true colors under a different mask. There's still a mask, but it's refreshing, in a way)

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

Hiraku wrote:

What about Nanami? I think she's also a huge Tsundere. All this time bitchslapping Anthy while trying to ruin Utena's life with a giant statue at the stair and making their curry extra spicy, but in the end, she warned Utena about Anthy and Akio being bad news. While calling Utena dumb, really, she's just looking out for her (Love the badminton moment. I think that was a time when most of the characters showed much of their true colors under a different mask. There's still a mask, but it's refreshing, in a way)

I don't quite agree. She might not openly scream I WANNA DO MY BIG BROTHER but that's mainly she doesn't really know it. Anyways, she openly acts like she cares a lot lot about Touga, and has no doubts in bitchslappin anyone who gets in the way between them.

She is also very warm and cute towards Touga from the beginning, is just confusion what messed her up.

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

Hm... according to Wiki, "Yandere" is derived from the term "Yanderu", which means sick, and "deredere", which means lovestruck.

Yep, sounds like a product of a deranged mind, alright. So, Yandere means "Lovestruck to the point where you're a fucking sick psychobitch" (I still love you, Anthy...)Then again... Utena somewhat qualifies for Yandere, what with Episode 37.

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

I forgot about Nanami because she doesn't exist to me after midnight, or so it would seem.

Nanami was most yandere when she was little. Heck, I think I should start adding, "killing his cat" to my list of tsundere behavior. Or at least, I would if I didn't think she killed it on accident... When she's older, Nanami leans more towards being a tsundere.

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

Nanami can be a tsundere when she wants to. Take her and Tsuwabuki's relationship for example. She blushed at the end of his Black Rose duel episode yet wouldn't dare let him see it. Come to think of it, if we want to talk tsunderes and Tsuwabuki let's remember Mari! She's a classic case of that stereotype.

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

Awesome topic is awesome. Sadly, I don't have anything particularly intelligent to add (as usual) but Tv Tropes does have a good explanation of Yandere and Tsundere for those who are interested. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Yandere Link to Tsundere is further down the page. [/link whoring]

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

Hiraku wrote:

What about Nanami? I think she's also a huge Tsundere. All this time bitchslapping Anthy while trying to ruin Utena's life with a giant statue at the stair and making their curry extra spicy, but in the end, she warned Utena about Anthy and Akio being bad news. While calling Utena dumb, really, she's just looking out for her (Love the badminton moment. I think that was a time when most of the characters showed much of their true colors under a different mask. There's still a mask, but it's refreshing, in a way)

I'd argue that's not the result of a tsundere personality but of a changing personality. I mean, when she was really plotting hard against Utena, that was at the beginning, when she was still just the spoiled schoolgirl. By the time she walked in on Akio and Anthy, she was already dealing with the fallout from her own sibling relationship, and she was already shaking off her naivety. After that kind of revelative transformation, her rivalry with Utena doesn't seem as important to her. At least that's how I took it.

Riri-kins wrote:

Come to think of it, if we want to talk tsunderes and Tsuwabuki let's remember Mari! She's a classic case of that stereotype.

This is dead on. Probably the most classic example of "tsundere" in the whole show, largely because everyone else is a good bit more complex than your average eroge archetype.

Re: SKU Tsundere and Yandere Characters

I think Juri is classic Tsundere and Kozue could be Kuudere. Of course these are just stereotypes and Utena has properly developed characters, out of the three Kuudere probably fits Kozue best though, if I had to pick one.